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Awesome Covers

Kurstin + Grohl: Rock and Roll All Nite

Kurstin + Grohl: Rock and Roll All Nite

Dave Grohl and Greg Kurstin wrapped up their 2021 Hanukkah Sessions with a gravelly-voiced cover of the KISS classic Rock and Roll All Nite. Dave went with Gene Simmons’ makeup while Greg donned Paul Stanley’s star eye. Then they tried and put gasoline into a Tesla.

Kurstin + Grohl: Stay

Kurstin + Grohl: Stay

Dave Grohl and Greg Kurstin are back with a new series of Hanukkah Sessions for 2021. The kicked things off right with this very special performance of Lisa Loeb’s Stay. While it starts with the same folksy charm as the original, things escalate quickly as it turns into death metal. (Thanks Harriet!)

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Video Game Music on Percussion Instruments

Video Game Music on Percussion Instruments

Musician Joe Porter plays a variety of percussion instruments. Sit back and enjoy as he performs a sampling of video game music on an instrument made from plastic soda bottles, timpani drums, steel pan, and more. He has an earlier video game medley and a collection of commercial jingles that are worth a listen too.

Boulevard of Broken Dreams on Harp Guitar

Boulevard of Broken Dreams on Harp Guitar

Musician Jamie Dupuis gets out his harp guitar for another great rock cover. This time he performed a warm and expressive acoustic arrangement of Green Day’s Boulevard of Broken Dreams. The peaceful and idyllic location stands in stark contrast to the song’s bleak urban imagery.

The Dead South: People Are Strange

The Dead South: People Are Strange

Saskatchewan bluegrass band The Dead South takes on The Doors 1967 classic People Are Strange, giving it a twangy country sound and a music video that reminds us that space aliens are people too. From the EP Easy Listening for Jerks – Part 2, a collection of their rock covers.

Vitamin String Quartet: Fairytale of New York

Vitamin String Quartet: Fairytale of New York

Now that it’s mid-November, we figure it’s okay to start playing a little Christmas music. Let’s start off the festivities with this great instrumental cover of The Pogues’ cynical classic Fairytale of New York, performed beautifully by the Vitamin String Quartet. We love how the fiddle embodies the spirit of Irish folk music.

Friend Like Me on Electronic Organ

Friend Like Me on Electronic Organ

Musician 826aska performs a spirited arrangement of the track Friend Like Me on her electronic organ. While we will always miss Robin Williams, her version serves as a delightful and uplifting tribute. If you enjoy Disney musicals, check out her arrangements of A Whole New World and Circle of Life too.

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Jack Black + Kids Sing Bowie

Jack Black + Kids Sing Bowie

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of San Francisco’s Blue Bear School of Music, Jack Black joined a group of talented kids from the school to perform a cover of David Bowie’s Suffragette City. This just makes us want a sequel to School of Rock in which the original kids are now the teachers.

Wake Me Up Before You Ska Ska

Wake Me Up Before You Ska Ska

It doesn’t get more bubbly than the 1984 Wham! hit Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go. But Jeremy Hunter of Ska Tune Network cranks the bubble machine up to 11 with his effervescent cover of the track, jamming it full of energy and upgrading it with a great brass section.

SpongeBob’s Paradise

SpongeBob’s Paradise

Because absolutely nobody asked for it, here is a music video of SpongeBob SquarePants singing a cover of Coolio’s Gangsta’s Paradise. Apparently, Negan Jeffrey used an AI-based vocal synthesizer to make SpongeBob sing the words to the 1995 hit track.

A Very Korean Medley

A Very Korean Medley

What’s better than one of Luna Lee’s gayageum covers of popular music? A medley of five of them in a single video. The tracks include CCR’s Have You Ever Seen The Rain, John Lennon’s Imagine, George Michael’s Careless Whisper, Chicago’s 25 or 6 to 4, and Led Zeppelin’s Babe I’m Gonna Leave You.

Holding Out for a Metal Hero

Holding Out for a Metal Hero

Appearing on the Footloose soundtrack, the Bonnie Tyler and Jim Steinman song Holding out for a Hero is the poster child for 1980s musical excess. Leo Moracchioli swaps synths for screams with a heavy metal cover of the track that would give John Lithgow’s judgmental reverend a heart attack if he heard it.

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My Sharona Fingerstyle

My Sharona Fingerstyle

Never gonna stop, give it up. The Knack’s track My Sharona was one of the biggest earworms of the late ’70s and early ’80s. Guitarist Luca Stricagnoli gives the song his own groovy style with an energetic acoustic guitar cover. We thought we might miss the drumbeat, but Luca gives us plenty of rhythm from the guitar’s wooden body.

“Weird Al” Yankovic Plays Sparks

“Weird Al” Yankovic Plays Sparks

If you haven’t seen Edgar Wright’s The Sparks Brothers yet, what are you waiting for? During production of this most excellent documentary, Wright convinced “Weird Al” to perform an accordion cover of Sparks’ track This Town Ain’t Big Enough for Both of Us from their 1974 classic album Kimono My House.

House of the Rising Sun (Dark Blues Cover)

House of the Rising Sun (Dark Blues Cover)

The Melodicka Bros. took The Animals’ classic House of the Rising Sun and transformed it into a dark and moody song that’s so emotive that it almost certainly will turn up on a soundtrack to set the stage for an intense movie or TV scene. The music video’s direction works perfectly with the gloomy track.

The Muppets Sing Mr. Blue Sky

The Muppets Sing Mr. Blue Sky

The ELO track Mr. Blue Sky has turned up in a variety of movies and cover versions over the years. Now, The Muppets join that list with a joyful rendition of the tune by Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem. The performance is part of the Dear Earth special, celebrating our planet and helping to raise awareness about climate change.

Deep Purple Symphony

Deep Purple Symphony

The members of Epic Symphonic Rock provide their orchestral take on three rock classics by Deep Purple: Smoke on the Water, Burn, and Highway Star, a song that brings back memories of getting our asses handed to us playing Rock Band on Expert difficulty.

I Can’t Go for That Instrumental Cover

I Can’t Go for That Instrumental Cover

The Daryl Hall & John Oates track I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do) is a true classic. KOSMusic teamed up with saxophone player Kevin Bene to perform this instrumental cover that nailed the 1980s synth sounds of the original so well that we kept expecting the vocals to kick in.

Adam Barrett: Acoustic Covers

Adam Barrett: Acoustic Covers

We couldn’t pick just one song from musician Adam Barrett’s YouTube channel, so we’re recommending that you listen to all of them. The talented guitarist and vocalist will fill your ears with warm and soulful sounds through his acoustic covers of tunes by The Beach Boys, The Cure, The Smiths, The Jam, The Beatles, and more.

Where Is My Mind? Roy Orbison Style

Where Is My Mind? Roy Orbison Style

We’re suckers for The Pixies song Where Is My Mind? and always love hearing fresh interpretations of the track. Vocalist Allison Young teamed up with Postmodern Jukebox to deliver a great cover version with a melodramatic style inspired by the late Roy Orbison, who gave us such great songs like Crying and Only the Lonely.

Master of Puppets in 50 Styles

Master of Puppets in 50 Styles

Singer Anthony Vincent is a master of voices, so it only makes sense that he’d take on Metallica’s Master of Puppets with his versatile vocal cords. If you ever wondered what the heavy metal track would sound like sung by James Brown, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, or Clown Core, Anthony has got you covered.

Bad: Euphonium Edition

Bad: Euphonium Edition

The musicians of theFivEquartet perform a lively brass arrangement of Michael Jackson’s 1987 hit track Bad. The instrument they’re playing is called a euphonium – which sits somewhere between a trumpet and a tuba. And how about those dance moves?

Marching Band Rush Tribute

Marching Band Rush Tribute

During a halftime break, the Ohio State University Marching Band paid tribute to the legendary Canadian rock band Rush. The Buckeyes band added 20 extra toms and cymbals to their rhythm section for added oomph on tracks including Tom Sawyer, Limelight, YYZ, and Fly by Night. (Thanks Dave!)

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